Emily Taylor finished with the second-best time for Cal State Fullerton at the Mark Covert Classic on Aug. 31. She placed 13th overall with a time of 19:04 in the 5k. MATT BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY

Most freshmen have to wait their turn to crack a team’s starting lineup. They try to find small ways to contribute, as leadership is often in the hands of more experienced players.

Sophomore Emily Taylor shouldered a bigger responsibility than most freshmen as the top runner on Cal State Fullerton’s cross country team a season ago. Despite an injury late into the year, she’s returned this fall eager to get back on the course.

She emerged as the Titans’ top performer in her first four collegiate meets in 2012. She posted a season-best 5k time of 17:33.6 at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational to finish 15th overall and finished 12th at the UC Riverside Invitational in the 6k with a time of 21:04.4, third among Big West runners.

As CSUF began to rely on her more to earn the top score, Taylor found herself quickly taking on a leadership role.

“At first, I didn’t know how fast the girls in the conference would be, but after my first race, I knew had to step up,” she said. “I wanted to lead by example for the other girls on our team.”

Yet the day before the 2012 Big West Championships last October, Taylor was forced to take on a different role. She suffered a stress reaction in her femur while training, which threatened to become a stress fracture. Fullerton’s athletic training staff ruled it a season-ending injury.

“I tried to run for a few minutes, and had to stop,” she said. “I thought it would go away. I tried everything. Icing, physical therapy, rubbing it out, but I just couldn’t do it.”

No longer able to run, Taylor stood on the sidelines for the most important meet of the season, as well as for NCAA regional competition that November.

Fullerton, who finished 7th and 28th respectively in the two meets, visibly missed her presence.

“She probably would have changed our score by 30 or 40 points,” said Fullerton head coach John Elders. “It was disappointing for us to lose one of our front runners. That’s a lot of points to absorb.”

Taylor took several months off for physical therapy. She spent time doing exercises in the pool every day as well.

In December of 2012 she was cleared to start running. Yet returning to top conditioning shape proved to more challenging than she expected, as she lost almost all of her endurance from sitting out.

“It was the hardest thing ever,” she said. “I’d run for five minutes and wouldn’t be able to breathe. I’d have to keep starting and stopping. I didn’t think I’d ever be the same.

“One time I went into coach’s office and just cried. ‘Why can’t I run?’ I kept asking him. I tried to stay positive, but it was difficult.”

Elders used the injury as a teachable moment in figuring out Taylor’s training limits. During the summer heading into her freshman season, she pushed herself to an unprecedented level, he said.

“It was too much, too fast, too hard all the time, and I think it may have eventually caught up with her,” he said.

This time around, Elders and Taylor are adjusting her training regimen to avoid the risk of re-injury.

“She’s learning how to balance hard training with moderate and easy training,” Elders said. “The more she matures, the more she figures out what her body can take, she’ll be even better. She has so much potential.”

Taylor took a slower approach to this past summer’s training. Consequently, she’s started off the 2013 season strong but isn’t exactly where she wants to be.

In the Titans’ first meet this season, the Mark Covert Classic on Aug. 31, Taylor finished with the second-best time on the team in the 5k with a time of 19:04, finishing 13th overall. Fullerton claimed fourth place.

“It felt amazing to finally get back, but I’m a little behind right now,” she said. “I really took my time with training, so I’m not the top runner on our team right now. I’m in the top five.

“By conference, I want to be number one, and hopefully be in the top 10 in conference. That’s my goal.”

Like Taylor, Fullerton is working to improve its overall performance as well.

“We have a deeper team this year,” Elders said. “We have more girls at the front. It’s exciting for Emily, having a team to build around her and challenge her.”

The injury will always be in the back of her mind, but she’s too focused on the next race to give it thought.

“I try not to worry about it,” she said. “I’m over that whole thing. I feel good, I feel very physically fit right now and I’m ready to compete.”

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